The trend estimate for total dwelling units approved has continued to increase in the September 2003 quarter with rises of 2.2% for July 2003, 2.1% for August 2003 and 1.0% for September 2003.

The trend estimate for private sector houses increased by 2.6% in July 2003, 1.8% in August 2003 and 1.2% in September 2003. This series has increased for the past seven months.

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED ESTIMATES

The seasonally adjusted estimate for total dwelling units approved fell by 2.0% in September 2003 to 914, following a rise of 4.4% in August 2003 and a fall of 2.4% in July 2003. The estimate for September 2003 is 5.9% higher than the estimate for September 2002.

The seasonally adjusted estimate for private sector houses approved in September 2003 was 738, which is 1.7% lower than the estimate for September 2002.

ORIGINAL ESTIMATES

The total number of dwelling units approved in the September 2003 quarter rose 16.5% to 2,838, compared with the June 2003 quarter.

The total value of building approved in the September 2003 quarter was $661.6 million, a decrease of 3.4% from the June 2003 quarter.

The value of residential building rose by 19.4% to $444.6 million while non-residential building declined by 30.6% to $217.0 million in the same period.

FURTHER INFORMATION

For further information about these and related statistics, contact Darryl Rowe on Adelaide 08 8237 7596, or the National Information and referral Service on 1300 135 070.

NOTES

ABOUT THIS ISSUE

This September quarter 2003 issue is the final issue of this publication.

In future, all data in this publication will be available in other ABS products, viz:

From the October 2003 issue, Building Approvals Australia (cat. no. 8731.0) will be expanded to include the state and territory data series of interest to most users. A copy of the proposed publication is available on the ABS web site. (see www.abs.gov.au and press the Publications icon, then go to 8731.0)

A Building Approvals data cube - contains most of the variables in this publication.

The on-line AusStats service - under Building Approvals, Australia (cat. no. 8731.0).

The ABS web site - in the Main Features for Building Approvals, Australia (cat. no. 8731.0).

Some state and territory data is also available in other ABS products. Further information on these alternative sources and how to access them is in the following document:

NOTE FOR SUBSCRIBERS

The following document details the cessation of the quarterly state and territory building approvals publications, and offers alternative sources for future data.

Quarterly chain volume data incorporate a new base year, 2001-02, which has resulted in revisions to growth rates, small in most cases, for subsequent periods. In addition, the reference year has been advanced to 2001-02, thereby preserving additivity in the quarters after the reference year. Re-referencing resulted in revisions to levels, but not growth rates, for all periods (see paragraphs 25-26 of the Explanatory Notes).

Area statistics are now classified to the Australian Standard Geographical Classification, 2003 Edition (see paragraph 27 of the Explanatory Notes).

DATA NOTES

A special article 'Functional Classification of Buildings', containing data for 2001-02 and 2002-03 was included in the September 2003 issue of Building Approvals Australia (cat. no. 8731.0). This and other articles are available from the ABS web site at <www.abs.gov.au> Go to the 'Feature Articles' link on the home page, then select 'Industry/Construction'.

REVISIONS THIS QUARTER

There have been revisions made to total dwelling units since the last issue of this publication, resulting in an additional 6 dwellings in 2002-03.

SYMBOLS AND OTHER USAGES

n.a.n.y.a.

not availablenot yet available

VALUE OF BUILDING APPROVED

VALUE OF TOTAL BUILDING

The trend estimate for the total value of building approved has declined for each month of the September 2003 quarter.

VALUE OF RESIDENTIAL BUILDING

The trend estimate for the value of residential building has increased for the September 2003 quarter.

VALUE OF NON-RESIDENTIAL BUILDING

The trend estimate for the value of non-residential building has declined for each month of the September 2003 quarter.

DWELLINGS APPROVED : 2002-03

TYPE OF DWELLING

The number of dwelling units approved in South Australia during 2002-03 is shown in the table below, for each type of dwelling category, together with the distribution of each dwelling category as a percentage of total dwelling units approved for 2001-02 and 2002-03.

DWELLING UNITS BY TYPE

Type of dwelling

Number
of units

2001-02
% of total
dwellings

2002-03
% of total
dwellings

New residential

Houses

8,592

84.1

79.4

Other residential building

Semi-detached, row or terrace houses, townhouses etc. of:

1 storey

757

9.3

7.0

2 or more storeys

489

3.4

4.5

Total

1,246

12.7

11.5

Flats, units, apartments in a building of:

1 or 2 storeys

79

1.1

0.7

3 storeys

118

0.8

1.1

4 or more storeys

544

0.8

5.0

Total

741

2.7

6.8

Total other residential building

1,987

15.4

18.4

Other

Alterations and additions to residential building

5

0.1

0.0

Conversions

224

0.2

2.1

Non-residential building

14

0.2

0.1

Total building

10,822

100.0

100.0

SUMMARY COMMENT

The total number of dwelling units approved in 2002-2003 was 10,822, a decrease of 0.7% over the previous financial year. The proportion of total dwellings attributed to new houses fell by 4.7% to 79.4% in 2002-03. There was an increase of 3.0% in the proportion attributed to new other residential dwellings, to 18.4% of total dwellings.